Turner Prize-winning artist Grayson Perry and a BBC newsreader are among those furious with energy supplier EDF this morning after claiming their bills skyrocketed by £38,000. Perry and journalist Jon Sopel took to Twitter this morning to blast the French energy company for attempting to take the heavily increased bill from their accounts with no prior warning.
Sopel says he saw his bill rise from £152 per month to £19,275 per month, but Perry claims to have seen an even steeper price hike, with his bill jumping from £300 to £39,000.
Their post saw numerous comments of other people who said their bills had been put up without warning, while another said their elderly relatives were being sent “threatening” letters with warnings about bailiffs by the company.
Perry posted on Twitter: “Hi @edfenergy, I’ve been trying to speak to someone to explain how my electricity bill went from £300 a month to £39,000. Your call centre has been no help but you tried to direct debit this amount today from my account.”
Sopel told EDF he was becoming fed up with its chatbot service, pleading with the company to allow him to speak to a human.
His post read: “Dear @edfenergy, just had a notification that our monthly standing order is going up from £152 a month to £19,274.
“Seems a bit steep. Is there a human rather than a bot we can talk to? Many thanks and merry Christmas Jon.”
The pair’s posts prompted a number of angry responses from others who had seen issues with the supplier.
One commenter advised Perry: “The only way to get energy companies to respond is to email them with the word ombudsman in the title. They’re very responsive all of a sudden once you threaten to escalate.”
While another added: “The EDF department that sends threatening letters with promises of bailiffs entering your home is very efficient.
“When my elderly & recently widowed mother didn’t pay a neighbour’s EDF bill sent in error to her, it’s what they did to her.”
EDF has been contacted for comment.
